{"id":321,"date":"2017-05-15T14:55:21","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T18:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/its\/?page_id=321"},"modified":"2017-05-15T14:55:21","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T18:55:21","slug":"ransomware","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ramapo.edu\/its\/ransomware\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHAT IS RANSOMWARE?<\/strong>
\nRansomware is a particularly malicious variant of computer virus, because it encrypts the infected victim’s files so that they are unreadable, and locked with a unique key. If infected, the only way to unencrypt the files is to pay the author of the virus some amount of money, usually via Bitcoin, which is an untraceable form of currency. Once paid, the author releases to key to the victim, and the files can be unencrypted again. It’s important to note that anti-virus software is useless once the files are encrypted – only the unique key can unencrypt them.<\/p>\n

WHAT CAN I DO TO PREVENT IT?<\/strong>
\nRansomware can spread in multiple ways. Sometimes, it rides along as an attachment in an email pretending to be something it’s not. The victim will click on the attachment, opening the door for the virus to replicate. Other times, it can spread on it’s own, scanning for the Internet for vulnerable computers. There’s no way to protect yourself 100%, we but recommend the following to reduce the odds:<\/p>\n